Illusionary World
by TwistedKitsune
Summary: Naruto is sick of the glares and the attacks. To escape, he puts up a genjutsu, but soon gets lost in his illusionary world. He stops eating, and always has this blank look on his face. People feel guilty and want to apologize, but is it too late?
1. Illusionary World

**This is in third person view, but in Naruto's point of view (if that makes any sense. Okay, basically, third person, but his thoughts...?) Anyways, this is, of course, about Naruto. It never really says his name unless someone is talking to him though. **

**Updates every couple days. The chapters are fairly short, so I expect only a week or two before finishing. Multi-chapter, guessing about 5 to 6 chapters.**

**Sort of AU, some are OoC (Out of Character).**

**First and ONLY Disclaimer for story: Me owning Naruto would be like me ruling the world. Totally awesome, but also sadly impossible.**

* * *

He couldn't take it anymore. The harsh words, the glares…all the times the citizens tried to attack and hopefully kill him. Nothing he did could change their minds, to prove that he was not the demon they thought he was. He was sick of everything. Every name, every cut…it all sunk him deeper into depression and loneliness.

Kids of his own age rarely spared him a glance. When they did, it was usually a look of disgust, or to laugh in his face. They called him harsh names. They put him down. No one believed in him, not even his teacher, not even the Hokage. He wasn't stupid. He had heard. The Hokage meant well, he knew, but it didn't change what he had said.

"_He means well and has a good spirit and strong will, but I doubt he will ever become the Hokage. His skills are lacking, and his anger always gets the best of him."_

If someone actually bothered to help him, maybe he would be able to show his potential. But no one did. No one wanted to. They all hated him. Why waste your time with something you hate? Who would do that? No one.

He wanted to escape the hell hole known as his life. The hatred, being ignored...it was hard to live with it. He rarely ever had enough money to get something to eat, besides ramen. He loved the stuff, but only because he was so used to it. He couldn't afford anything else. So he did it.

He felt it was the only way to get away.

He set up a strong genjutsu, something no one would believe he was capable of doing. It was special; it followed him everywhere and changed everything. It was kept up by the Kyuubi chakra that never ran out.

The once harsh glares now appeared to him as caring looks. The frowns and scowls transformed into happy smiles. Every cut he received was thought by him as a caring touch.

Whenever he thought of a food, it would appear. He never actually ate anymore, it was all in his mind. And his mind thought he was eating, so he would think he was full. He slowly started to wither away, become thinner and thinner.

People noticed, and they started to feel bad. They tried to help him, but their words fell on deaf ears, lost in an imaginary world.

They reported it to the Hokage, who discovered the genjutsu. But no matter what he tried, he couldn't dispel it. It was too strong.

People now looked at him with guilt. Kids his age felt it too. Some of the weaker minds cried, sometimes in front of him. They hated the look he had on his face. A perpetual smile, his eyes lost in a trance. He was stuck in his false world. No one could get him out. No one could talk to him.

In his mind, far, far back, he was aware that his world was a lie, that nothing was true, everything was only how he thought it was. But he loved it so much he refused to believe it.

Sometimes he swore he could hear faint crying, sometimes he could hear someone pleading. Softly, softly. The voices changed a lot. Once in a while, the voice would bring a spark to his mind, and he would feel as if he knew the person. But then it would be gone, and he would just laugh softly to himself and push the thought away. He was gone, and no one could bring him back.


	2. Weakening

**Second Chapter! Well...this isn't really necessary to read. It's like a filler of a sort. Just interactions with people from the real world (or....with a person...?) If you want to know if he gets out, just wait for the last chapter. Or two. I don't know if I want happy ending or sad, so I will probably write both. (Personally, I want a sad ending, but it seems wrong to just let him die in it...You can choose what you like, though my happy ending will probably be crappy...ha...I admit it...)**

**I hope you know who the person is! 'Cause if you don't, then you OBVIOUSLY have never read/watched Naruto.**

* * *

It was weird. He didn't really understand what was happening. He was getting thinner, no matter how much (imaginary) food he ate. It confused him. He shrugged it off though. Probably just growing. His body was probably just digesting at a surprising rate. He was never the smartest, and that explanation calmed him.

* * *

He felt an empty feeling inside, that something was missing. But when he asked someone, they would just smile and laugh. "You're probably just imagining things," they would say. "You have everything you could ever want here."

He couldn't shake off the feeling that everything just seemed…too unrealistic. The kind looks and smiles he got…instead of a warm happy feeling like he used to get, he would just feel numb. Like they weren't real, weren't true.

* * *

One day he heard a voice.

"Kit. How long are you going to stay here? You're killing yourself."

He had no idea who it was. It sounded familiar. And…'Kit'…Who else had called him that? He remembered vaguely, but couldn't place a figure on it.

* * *

This day was just odd. He had been walking down the street. People greeted him like usual. Then he reached a training ground. In the middle, there seemed to be a small shift. It looked different there than the rest of the field. So he walked over, and looked at it. What he saw shocked him.

There was a boy there, about his age. He could see him through the weird area. (His genjutsu was weakening in areas.) The boy had blue black hair and the blackest eyes he'd ever seen. He couldn't tear his gaze away.

"Dobe. You're just going to give up like this? How long are you going to stay there? Don't you realize people care about you? I…I'm sorry for everything I said in class. I didn't mean it. I was just…jealous. You had no family and yet you could smile like that. You never let anything get to you. Please…can't you just come back?"

'Dobe'. Where had he heard that before? It sounded familiar.

He saw one single tear fall from the boy's eye. The boy wiped at his face furiously, as if disgusted at himself for crying.

As the boy left, one word worked its way into his mouth. "Teme." He was shocked. What…? Did he know the boy? Now that he thought of it, the boy seemed familiar. The feelings overwhelmed him. He turned and ran.


	3. Visitors

**Third chapter! This one seems a bit better than chapter two, I think. I don't necessarily like Sakura (oops, gave it away. No wait, he says her name anyways...aw darn. Gonna stop now and just let you read.) but I used her anyways, 'cause...pink hair is...distinguishable....? Yeah, I don't know. Whatever. Oh, yeah, ending soon. This is yet another optional read chapter. (Optionals will be CH2-CH5.)**

**Oh and thanks for the reviews. It's not much, but I _AM_ quite new. So each one made me feel happy. Thank you for taking the time to leave a five second typed review (or more if yours was longer.)**

**And about the soft pleading...yeah, I guess it was Hinata...I never actually thought about it, haha.**

His curiosity got the better of him. Before he knew it, his feet had led him back to the training ground with the weird portal-like thing. He gulped slightly, and forced himself to peek over. The portal seemed larger. Maybe it was just his imagination…It's not like he was really sure if it was a portal or not.

This time, it was a different person. Oddly enough, the girl had pink hair.

"Sa…" He swore he knew her name, but it slipped his mind.

The girl seemed to hear. She jolted, and stared somewhere, tears forming in her eyes.

"Naruto? Did you just say something?"

He tilted his head slightly. How did this girl know his name?

"N-Naruto! Please…" Her voice broke, and gave way to hiccupped sobs.

"Naruto…I'm so sorry! I…I shouldn't have treated you that way… I just…I was stupid. I pushed you away. I shouldn't have done that. Please…If you can hear me. Please come back…We miss you. We all want to apologize."

"Sa—Sakura…" The name came back to him.

Tears flowed faster down the girl's cheek as her eyes widened.

"Did you…Naruto? Did you just say my name?" Her eyes widened more (if that was possible), and she ran off, bringing back a brown haired man with a scar across his nose.

He felt a sudden rush of feelings. His heart felt heavy, and his eyes stung for some reason.

He ran yet again.

* * *

He returned not long after. Maybe ten minutes had passed. He couldn't tell. But when he returned, he saw that the brown haired man was there, while the pink hair—no—Sakura was gone.

The man looked heartbroken. He couldn't figure out why.

"Naruto…"

Oh. That was why. This was the third person now, huh… He wondered what he had done to make so many people sad. People seemed to like him well enough here… (_He has a 'here' and 'there'. Here being the fake world and 'there' being the real one._)

"Naruto…" the man said again. "Sakura…she told me you said her name. Are you breaking free? How much longer are you going to stay in there? I miss you… It hurts to see you look like this. You're killing yourself. Look at how thin you are. Please…" The man turned and left, tears threatening to spill.

'In there'…He wondered what the man meant. And why did they all say 'please'? Where was he supposed to get out of? He looked around. If anything, those people should get out of that odd world.

He felt sad. He hadn't felt that in a long time. Something about seeing that person like that just made him feel horrible, and slightly guilty.


	4. Friends

**I attempted to make this one longer a bit by adding in extra stuff. I need to practice details because I always get low grades. "Not enough detail!" "Describe more!" Yeah. Sorry if I ruined it…*sheepish laugh* **

**Thank you for your review, ****Ofunu****, and I too hope I don't mess up this story. Trying my best! Though I'm fourteen, so I don't think my writing skills are all that good right now…Okay, yes, enough with my self-pity. More of the story!**

**Note: The word 'he' almost always refers to Naruto. His name doesn't actually appear unless someone says it out loud. It's just how I want it, so don't complain, please.**

**And the visitors, in case you don't know (though I don't know how that would be possible) is Hinata, Kiba & Akamaru, Neji, Shikamaru, and Chouji. Just making sure as to not cause confusion. I don't really like putting their name down…Anyways, sorry for the long Author's Note. Now, the story...for real.**

* * *

The portal was bigger, at least by three times. He had no idea what drew him over. Every time, he would leave feeling awful inside. And yet, there was something about the people he saw…He was captivated. Something about them soothed him, and he was willing to put up with the whirl of emotions afterwards as a consequence.

This time, there was another girl. She had blue black hair similar to the first boy. Her eyes, which were a lavender color, had no pupils. It sounded odd, and frankly a bit creepy, but it actually made her look really pretty. Yet again, it was another person crying. His insides twisted, and he felt the odd urge to attempt to comfort the girl.

"N-Naruto-kun…I-I know I've never been able to tell you this to your face, but I really like you……………. It's sad, hmm? Not being able to gather enough courage to tell someone you have a crush on them. And what's even worse is that I can only talk without a stutter because you're…lost."

Lost? How was he lost? He knew exactly where he was. And how could this girl like him when he had never met her?

"If you can hear me Naruto-kun, I… I hope you will be able to break free."

He felt the slightest of pressure against his forehead the instant the girl leaned down.

_A…Kiss?_ His hand reached up, touching his forehead gently, as if to preserve the feeling. He felt his cheeks warm just a bit.

**(A/N: Sorry for interruption…but added just that tiny bit of Naru x Hina just because I felt like it. Not my favorite couple, but still cute sometimes…)**

* * *

The portal had grown in size yet again; it now seemed to form some kind of closed off area. He decided that it was probably a room. He could just make out that the walls were white.

There was a puppy, and a boy with short brown hair, most likely the puppy's owner. Off to the side was another boy, this one with long brown hair tied loosely at the bottom in a ponytail. His eyes looked similar to the previous girl, only his was more silver than lavender. He also carried himself in a more prideful manner. Another boy had medium length black hair tied into a high ponytail. The last guy had short brown hair, a bandana tying his hair down. The boy had a sturdy build (big-boned) and was eating out of a chip bag at a ferocious speed.

They stood there a bit, roughly around five to ten minutes just staring at _something_. The only sound was the crunch of chips.

He tilted his head in a questioning fashion. He wondered if the chip bag was bottomless. If it was, how did it work? And did the boy just walk around with the same bag of chips all his life? He knew it wasn't very important, but it was all so intriguing.

The puppy let out a soft, almost pleading, whine.

"Sorry, Akamaru…I want to say something…but…what can I possibly say? I mean…the way I treated him at school…"

The puppy—Akamaru—whined again and let out a small bark.

"I feel horrible enough already!" the boy snapped.

Akamaru shrunk away, staring at his owner cautiously. The puppy seemed to understand to stay away when the boy was upset.

The long haired boy gently placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and shook his head.

"Sorry, Neji," he murmured. He stooped down and gently lifted Akamaru before following him—Neji—out, puppy tucked under his arm.

The two left stayed for a little bit, before finally leaving. The black haired one seemed to be taking his time leaving the room.

"I would have thought you were smarter than to let yourself live under an illusion," the person with a ponytail whispered, before exiting the scene.

Illusion? Was maybe his world a lie? Well…that would answer why all those people before would say 'please' as if expecting something…but…ugh…it was too much to think about. He trudged home silently, his mind jumbled with all the possibilities answering the question he had.


	5. Conflict

**Well, Animus of Masada, I don't think there will be much to it. Just in the illusionary world, and then if he is able to get out or not. Sorry to disappoint… I'm not one to really develop a long plot. I have a short attention span so my stories, the longer they are, the more the style kind of changes (for the worse, mostly).**

**0namakiza0: Yep, I'm really 14.**

**Ah, this chapter probably isn't the best…Changed it a few times. It's better than the first time I wrote it…but…hmm.**

**Warning: Slight Sakura-Bashing. Unintentional, but still there. (Just happened when I wrote it, and I don't want to change it.)**

* * *

He was starting to remember. He noticed that as the portal grew larger, memories started to flow back. Well, not quite so smoothly. At first it was just tiny fragments. He would see flashes of color. If he was lucky, he would be able to make out a voice. Then slowly it got a little longer. Now, it wasn't much better, since many times it would just cut off in the middle (which frustrated him to no end), but he had learned many things. He remembered the people he had seen. He knew that the ones who visited were called Sasuke, Sakura, Iruka, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru, Neji, Shikamaru, and Chouji. At first, when he thought of them, he would feel a flood of anger, which he only vaguely knew why he felt that way (something about how they treated him; his memory was still a bit fuzzy). Not enough of his memory had come back for him to know the specifics, but the feelings were still there in his mind. Now, he sort of missed them.

True, they hadn't treated him very well, but it wasn't entirely all their fault…right?

Iruka and Hinata were the best; they had always been kind to him. Iruka had been mean in some ways, like trying to get him to do something (or just the opposite), but he had found that in the end everything turned out for the best...usually. It was rare that it didn't end up better.

Sasuke, well, he had been a bit rude, but they _were_ rivals. Rivals weren't meant to be nice to each other. Respectful, yes. He remembered the times when Sasuke had called him 'Dobe'. After remembering, he started to realize there was a bit hidden in it, and it almost sounded…well, fond. Most of the time. Sometimes, he just sounded annoyed or bored.

Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba had been his best friends, until something happened. Actually, he didn't know what. But he did know that it had been the worst day of his life. _Something_ had happened, and it caused them to distance away from him. It probably would come back to him, but he couldn't help but wonder what it was.

Neji. Well, Neji had been a bit stuck up, but it had been his clan's fault. As he thought of how their clan worked, his insides twisted with disgust. They had separated it into two separate parts, the 'main' and the 'branch'. Neji was part of the branch, and had been branded with the curse on his forehead that could be activated by any 'main house' member. It caused excruciating pain to the cursed person.

He disliked the Hyuuga clan. (But not Neji and Hinata. It wasn't Neji's fault his personality was like that; it was how he was raised.) They treated the Branch family like servants, and didn't even bother to think about others. They were also taught to never show emotions, which was why they disliked Hinata. (Though in his opinion, he felt that the Hyuuga clan should be glad they had someone like her.)

Now Sakura, she had been quite mean to him. And not in a teasing way either; it seemed like she had actually hated his guts. He wasn't sure whether or not to accept her apology, because, frankly, he didn't think she deserved it. Just because she cried once over him didn't make everything okay. Those hits to the head and insulting words had really brought his spirits down in school. For all he knew, she could have just cried because Sasuke had influenced her. Secretly, he wished that she truly meant it. An act like that was just way too low for anyone, doing that just to suck up to someone. So he hoped for his sake, and for hers, that she had been sincere.

* * *

He walked through his illusionary world. He was painfully aware of how fake the smiles were now. They held no emotion. They just smiled because that was what he wanted. He wished they were gone. And just like that, they disappeared. It made him uneasy. Did he really want to continue living in this place? A small part of him wished to experience real emotions again, even the blood chilling glares that he had run away from. But even he didn't know how to dispel it. He got home, and fell into a dreamless sleep.


	6. The End

**Okay, about the rain stuff I put in…Well, I personally believe that rain during a funeral makes it seem more saddening, though very clichéd. So, yeah…It's the original ending, besides the few things I added in after reading some comments.**

**And well, this is the end. It doesn't flow exactly with chapter 5, though...**

**Oh, I'm also going to put an alternate ending. (It will probably be a reasonably happy ending, but not fairytail-like.)**

**This was the first ending I wrote, and I really like this one...but...some might not like what I put... Yeah, just read it.**

* * *

-The Original Ending-

* * *

His coffin was lowered slowly into the neatly dug hole. The whole village was there (although quite a few were arrested for attempting to burn the coffin). As they were led away, they scoffed at the people, telling them that they were stupid for giving a monster a human burial. Many ignored them, though some (like Sakura and Sasuke) glared at them fiercely, desperately wishing they could attack them without being put in jail for attacking a civilian.

He was treated (mostly) how the death of a Hokage would be like.

Flowers were placed in gently. Many cried. The tears fell to the earth, soaking it through.

Usually, on such a funeral, it would be raining, as if the sky was crying for the fallen. But today, the sun was shining brightly, the sky filled with fluffy white clouds. It was almost as if giving a reminder of the boy's happy and bubbly personality. If anything, it just hit their hearts harder. (And of course, the people who still hated him just jeered and claimed that he wasn't worth the rain.)

The hole was carefully covered. Then a tombstone was placed carefully. _Uzumaki Naruto_, written by none other than the Hokage. It was in shaky writing; as if the Hokage refused to believe that he had died.

The cause of death had been starvation from the inability to break him out of the genjutsu. He hadn't eaten since the day he set it. He mind thought he did, as his body just became like bones and paper thin skin. In a way, it was a relief, in a way. It hurt them to see a person so tiny. Many wished it was a horrible nightmare that they were just having trouble waking up from. But of course that wasn't the case.

After a while, the gap healed. The villagers slowly got used to the boy not being there. But secretly, they pined for him, even his annoying little pranks. They missed his loud voice, and his ambition in becoming the next Hokage.

Early in the mornings, Teuchi and Ayame would open up their shop, Ichiraku Ramen. They would look eagerly for the sunny boy, only to be painfully reminded that he was gone. Once in a while, Ayame could be found crying silent tears.

Sometimes, as Sakura walked down the street, she would see a flash of yellow. She would start to yell out his name, then realize it was just a cat or a piece of paper. On those days, she walked more slowly, her head down, staring at the ground.

Sasuke would walk around, looking for him to spar. Then he would remember, scowl, and hurry home. Most of the times, he ended up training so hard he was found unconscious. He never wanted to admit it because of his pride, but he had been his best friend and rival. One worthy of his time. Maybe even more.

Hinata suffered from depression for the first few weeks. Then the following weeks, she would be found unconscious like Sasuke from overexertion. Kiba and Akamaru seemed to be less loud. He smiled less often too.

He inspired many to train harder. They seemed to want to make up for what he could not do anymore; to train equally for both combined.

Everyone realized their huge mistake. And they all promised, that if ever a boy like that appeared again, they would treat him with the utmost respect, to make up for what Naruto had to suffer through.

* * *

Side Note: Those arrested were either sentenced for life or executed, depending on what they did. Although, some of the executing might have been just a _little_ biased because the Hokage was doing the sentencing…(Though whether celebrating his death is worth the death punishment is your decision, though I feel that you might think they deserve it.)


	7. Alternate Ending

**Sorry it took so long…it was actually typed up a day after the original ending, but I had some drama with my friends. I happened to say something at the wrong time and they just snapped, and they started ranting and complaining to me, so yeah…Spent some time calming them down…sigh… But they do feel better now, after I let them rant.**

'**Kay, anyways, here's the alternate ending. Sorry for all the repeated words. I don't have very many words in my vocabulary.**

**Oh yeah, and I'm relieved no one complained about my original ending. Thank god. 'Cause like, I really liked that one.**

**This one was as realistic as I could think of, paired with some stuff I learned from some comments. They stutter a lot in this…Oops, again.**

***New: Someone asked how he was able to leave the hospital so soon after waking up. Well...he did sleep for some time (never specified the amount; what he feels was a day could have been a week) and he has Kyuubi's healing powers. (It's a little embarrassing that I don't even know...haha...)**

**

* * *

**

* * *

He blinked. And blinked again. There was a blinding white light, and it hurt to keep his eyes open. He could only keep his eyes open to a squint, and even then he couldn't see anything.

"Mmnnh…" he groaned, annoyed.

He heard a loud gasp. A crash followed soon after, as if someone had dropped something onto the floor.

His vision was coming back, the blurs starting to focus more. It didn't hurt as much, but he still couldn't tell where he was.

There was the sound of running.

A loud slam.

The sounds paused, and he strained to hear as he continued to try to figure out what was wrong with his eyes.

"Naruto!"

He turned his head towards the sound, and could just barely make out an odd mix of colors.

"What…What's wrong with my eyes?" he managed to say. His voice sounded hoarse and raspy, like he hadn't used it for a long while. Judging by his sore muscles, that was probably the case.

He blinked again. He was able to separate some colors now.

Blue. Pink. (He wondered why there was pink floating around. Maybe someone was wearing a pink shirt…?) Brown. White.

"Your eyes are still trying to adjust. You've been…asleep for a very long time." He didn't recognize that voice. No wait…it sounded like…Shikamaru? What was he doing there? Where was he, exactly?

He was suddenly aware of how tired he was. His eyes started drifting shut.

"'M'tired…" he mumbled as he fell to the bed under him.

* * *

He opened his eyes again. Surprisingly, he was able to see this time, after a few minutes of letting his eyes adjust. There was a small crowd of people in the room. A few of his classmates, and some other people and animals that he was close to were there.

_Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Iruka_, he noted. They were gathered in the small—

He was in a hospital room, he realized.

"W-Why am I in the hospital?" His voice cracked; it hurt to talk. Kiba wordlessly handed him a glass of water, which he gulped down thankfully.

"N-Naruto-kun…You don't remember?" That was Hinata. Though her voice seemed even quieter, she didn't stutter half as much. "Y-you used a genjutsu, and we couldn't break you out of it. And then yesterday you suddenly woke up…" He had never heard her speak that much. She almost seemed like she was going to faint from embarrassment, probably because he hadn't responded yet. She was turning awfully red. He opened his mouth quickly.

"Oh, is that what happened…? Uhm…thanks for explaining Hinata...?" He was hoping that would calm here, and luckily it did.

He was suddenly aware of an odd pain in his stomach area.

There it was again, and it was paired with an odd gurgling sound. He chuckled sheepishly.

"Could we…uh…get a little something to eat…?"

There was an awkward pause. And then—

"B-baka!" Someone hit him on the head. (It was a light hit, though.)

"Ow, Sakura-chan!" he whined out while rubbing his head, much like before, as if nothing ever happened.

"After everything that happened, all you can think about is food!" she said teasingly. The weird tension seemed to have disappeared.

"Well can we at least get some food? I'm hungry!" he whined (in a manly way…).

Ichiraku was chosen as an unspoken agreement.

* * *

After a bit of struggle, he finally managed to stand up and stay standing. He refused any help, stubbornly saying he wasn't some weak little girl (and of course got hit by Sakura, got a quick lecture from Iruka on how not all girls are weak, and also a surprising and unexpected lecture from Hinata).

They slowly made their way to his favorite ramen stand, and he chattered happily about anything he could think of. For once, they didn't tell him to shut up, but listened to him talk. They were glad, because they had thought they would never see him again.

He felt something hit against his leg, and before he knew what was happening, he felt himself falling. Thankfully, Neji got there in time to hold him up.

He looked to his right to find Sasuke glaring at a man. His hand was clutching the man's shirt, and pushing him back slightly. It caused the man to be at a weird angle, since one of his legs was sticking out. He was relying on his other leg to keep him up and Sasuke's grip on his shirt. There was an audible gulp from him.

"What do you think you're doing." The way Sasuke said it showed that he expected an answer, without any excuses.

"T-That's the d-demon kid!" the man stuttered out. Sasuke scoffed, disgusted. He shoved the man away without warning, causing the person to hit the ground rather painfully.

"He's not a demon," Sasuke snarled. The man nodded, scared, and scrambled away as fast as he could.

"You didn't have to do that," he said to Sasuke, fidgeting uncomfortably under his stare. He wasn't used to people standing up for or protecting him.

"Hn. Dobe." Sasuke's mouth twitched upwards into a _barely-there_ smile. "I wanted to, so I did."

"Oh," he said, stunned. "_Thank you_." He said the last part softly, just loud enough for Sasuke to hear and saw another tiny smile.

They all turned the corner and were greeted by the sight of the familiar red and white stand.

"Oi—old man!" Teuchi turned, surprised.

"Naruto!" he exclaimed happily. Ayame twirled around at an amazing speed. A pleasant smile graced her face.

"Naruto! Of course the first place you would go would be to Ichiraku!" she laughed.

"Of course! This is the best place in all of Konoha!"

_Whack_!

A present from Sakura. He rubbed his head with a pout.

"Shut up, dobe, and order already." He grinned, completely forgetting about the previous hit.

"One miso ramen, please!" he shouted.

"Diet for me," Sakura said politely.

"Beef, with extra tomatoes," Sasuke said, his face tinged a faint pink from revealing his favorite food.

"Extra beef!" Chouji bellowed.

_(Order, order, order, order, order…)_

They got their orders quickly, and settled down to eat.

He looked around, seeing the calm, content faces of his friends. He could say, without any exaggeration whatsoever, that this might be the very best day of his life. He would never forget it.

* * *

**A/N: Well, the alternate ending is done. Basically, even though there was that man who insulted him and tried to trip him (Err...didn't think it was appropriate to have some civilian suddenly jump out and attempt to kill him) he still felt that it was the best day of his life. Makes you wonder how his life normally is/was, huh...?**

**I still don't think this ending is very good...oh well.**

**Oh and thanks to everyone who reviewed/will review. Each one made me really (really, really) happy.**


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